The Hunters Arrive at Camp
by thebackupkid
Summary: Percy and Annabeth are back at camp and are having a hard time finding time with each other. On the one day they have together, they are interrupted with the arrival by Thalia and the Hunters, much to Percy's annoyance. Rated T for the some content and later chapters just to be safe
1. Chapter 1

**The Hunters arrive at Camp**

Set after The Last Olympian. Percy and Annabeth are at camp now and trying to fit in a day they can spend time with each other, alone. It turns out to be a lot harder than they realise. These characters don't belong to me, they belong to Rick Riordan.

It was a beautiful day at Camp Half-Blood and everyone was taking advantage of Zeus' good mood. The satyrs and a few of the other demigods were tending to the strawberries but most of the other campers were lounging around outside their dorms, just soaking up the sun. I spotted a couple of the Hermes' campers lurking in the shadows of the buildings, no doubt planning chaos and destruction. I made a mental note to stay clear of them and remembered it wouldn't matter. I had other plans today, hopefully involving my distracted girlfriend beside me.

I waved to some familiar faces as we passed their cabins, some waving back fondly and others to busy to notice. There was never a dull moment at camp, with the continual arrival of new demigods and construction still going on for the new cabins, not to mention the extensions of buildings that I was always dodging out of helping. It was becoming difficult trying to find a place that was peaceful or where I could just be alone with Annabeth.

We had only been at the camp for a couple of weeks and in that time I had only really seen Annabeth at meal times. It wasn't like we were avoiding each other, but we both had to get back into the routine of training and just daily camp life. I had decided that I wanted a day where the both of us would cancel our plans and just spend the entire day together. Annabeth at first seemed relieved and keen that I had suggested this, yet as I went to her cabin this morning, she had greeted me with a slight nod and a handful of papers in her hand, telling me she just had to read them before we could go somewhere.

To hide my disappointment, I decided to tell her about my training session with a cohort of the new campers, going into detail about how a few of them nearly took my head off by sheer luck and if I wasn't invulnerable I would be battered and bruised, hoping that she would at least be a teensy bit worried.

She didn't even flinch at my story, just nodding and saying 'yeah' every few sentences. She was too busy reading reports that were being relayed to her about the daily architectural on-goings for both Olympus and the camp. I glanced down at her, trying to get her attention by bowing my head towards her. When that didn't work, I gently pried her hand away from holding the reports, holding it firmly in my hand as we walked.

'Mmm …What?' Annabeth finally looked up from her current report, still oblivious to her surroundings.

'You haven't heard anything I just told you?' I asked, smiling slightly in understanding but I was a bit annoyed that the paper could capture Annabeth's attention instead of me when we planned the work free day.

'You have a knack for stating the obvious, Seaweed Brain,' Annabeth muttered.

Something in the reports must have been troubling otherwise she wouldn't have snapped at me like that. She pulled her hand out of mine, rifling through the pile to pull out another report to cross reference them. She grabbed my hand again as we walked towards Half-Blood Hill, cradling the reports in her other arm, still reading.

I sighed, looking down at our entwined hands. I know I should have felt slightly relieved that at least she still wanted me around, even if she was preoccupied. We had reached the base of Half-Blood Hill but Annabeth continued to walk, climbing steadily despite balancing the reports tucked under her arm. I decided to put my slightly annoyed self away, falling in step beside her.

'So … have any suggestions for our alone time on this mighty fine day. Whether you and I trained together, just leisurely strolled around or you continue to read your reports?'

'Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, I know we arranged to have the day to ourselves but this is the last one I swear. It's just that one of the Cyclops misheard Tyson's instructions and now I have to work out how to fix it a giant gap in one of the buildings,' she apologised and I squeezed her hand reassuringly.

'My other option was to have an underwater picnic. Personally I am leaning towards the picnic,' I told her.

Annabeth found a spot in the shade of the pine tree, Thalia's tree, with Peleus, the guard dragon, and the Golden Fleece on the opposite side to us. Not that our presence upset Peleus too much. He was curled up fast asleep again, smoke swirling lazily from his nostrils. I was beginning to think all he did was sleep and I envied him, thinking about my sleep-deprived last two weeks. Annabeth placed the pile of reports beside her, engrossed in trying to solve the problem on one of the sheets, although her hand still in mine. So I decided to try on my best sales pitch and win her over.

'Beautiful surroundings, lovely food catered by a place I have not decided yet and the perfect boyfriend that can create it all for you.' I said with a smile before adding. 'Me being that perfect boyfriend of course.' I winked at her and she snorted derisively.

'Does that picnic include your father's cohort of fish to spy on us the entire time?' She turned the report over.

'They don't bother us too much and when I tell them to scram they do and they aren't Dad's spies,' I reminded her for what felt like the hundredth time. 'Some fish are just nosey, that's all.'

'I see,' she said, turning to give me that reprimanding look. 'So that time we were down there together, a random wave just happened to destroy your air bubble, practically drowning me before knocking us both out of the water after you told that school of tuna to give us privacy?'

I blushed when I remembered what we were doing. 'Well, they could have thought you were tackling me or something. They just wanted to protect me.'

'Tackling you?' Annabeth echoed, trying not to sound chastising. 'You weren't putting up much of a fight if I recall correctly.'

'The point is,' I said loudly, my face growing hot. 'That they left us alone when I told them too.'

'Oh … You just want to go for a picnic down there because you are the Son of the Sea God and you can tell them what to do and they follow you.' She went back to her report.

'Well yeah,' I said as if it was obvious, grinning mischievously, hoping we had gotten off the past. 'There is only so many times you can soak a Hermes' kid in the surrounding bushes before it loses its fun.'

Annabeth shook her head but smiled, her anger forgotten. She sighed as she placed her report beside her. 'I'll sort it out later.' She leaned against me and I scooted closer, placing my around her.

I entwined my other hand into hers. 'I hope that's not your only reason for inviting me to underwater picnics? Being able to tell people what to do,' she asked, her tone playful but still carried the warning of 'answer carefully or else'.

'Of course not,' I murmured, still smiling. 'I just hadn't got around to the best part.'

'So, that wasn't the perfect boyfriend angle?' she asked playfully.

'Alas, no,' I said sadly. I kissed her temple, resting my head against hers.

I heard a flap of wings and watched as another owl darted off into the forest. It had been the fourth one that week, every time Annabeth and I had found a stolen moment alone, it had either chased me away or tried to attack me.

Annabeth groaned at her mother's signal that we were getting too close, bringing my hand up to her lips and kissing it gently. I thought that meant I had to leave so I started to pull away.

'Don't you dare,' she growled. She grabbed me more forcefully, making sure I stayed where I was.

I raised my eyebrows at her. 'Annabeth, but …' I began but she just shook her head at me.

'She can't always decide what I want,' she muttered, pushing my legs apart so she could sit in front of me. She took my hands in hers, bringing them over so my arms were wrapped around her. She leant back into my chest and I could almost see her glaring at the direction the owl went.

I knew Annabeth was stubborn and daring, but I still felt a bit hesitant agreeing to this. After all, it was me that the Goddess of Wisdom wanted nothing to obliterate off of this earth, not her. I had to keep reminding myself I was invulnerable otherwise I would have felt more uneasy that what I already did. I know Athena was worried I would hurt Annabeth but I had a feeling Annabeth could hurt me more than I could ever hurt her.

I knew that should scare me, to realise how much I cared about Annabeth, but the truth was I had cared for Annabeth a lot longer that I had admitted to myself. If we had already survived this much so far, just maybe it made me stronger because I was fighting to survive for someone else as well.

'I can see why now,' Annabeth murmured. She tilted her face towards mine.

I quickly re-arranged my face so she wouldn't get concerned. 'See what?'

'Why you always suggest the underwater picnics on our spare days. So my mother can't send her, friends, to watch us.' She sounded bitter so I tried to lighten the mood.

'Well it wasn't the only reason why but I wasn't going to mention it aloud, obviously,' I whispered in her ear, smiling. 'Can't you do something about it?' I jerked my head towards the owl.

'Not really,' she whispered back, smiling.

'Damn. And here I thought you were a great tactician and fighter.'

Annabeth punched my leg. 'I'm certainly better than you, Seaweed Brain.'

'Oh, I dunno,' I said breezily, getting ready to surprise her. 'I think you just told me that so – umphf!'

Annabeth caught me, rolled me over and slammed me into the ground, my breath escaping my lungs in a whoosh. She was grinning as she pinned my arms and legs.

'Huh,' was all I could say, still trying to find air and not just because I was winded.

'Seaweed Brain,' she chastised, clicking her tongue. 'You are getting a little rusty. You are usually much faster.'

'Are you sure that was my tactic?' I was trying to sound in control but I knew my heart was betraying my horribly. 'Because from where I'm lying,' I sat up slightly, looking directly at her. 'The view is quite lovely.'

She punched me in the arm and I winced, smiling apologetically. 'Okay, okay, I take it back. Maybe we should relax a bit, seeing as I would like to spend the rest of the day with you and your mother's pal is probably still watching us.'

She leant down towards me and I yearned to go closer but I was afraid to move. 'Sorry I was preoccupied this morning,' she murmured.

'This is you apology?' I asked weakly. 'Damn it, Wise Girl …'

'The owl is gone. He will be back soon though, so we have a little time. So are you accepting my apology?' she asked unfazed but I saw a hint of a smile on her lips.

'Depends …' I said airily, relaxing.

'The picnic sounds nice but how about on the beach and not in the water?' she compromised.

I lied there for a while, feigning thinking about it. She got impatient and punched me in the arm again.

'Alright, you're on, just stop hitting me,' I replied, tumbling over my words but that just made her smile more broadly.

She leant down closer, her grip loosening on my arms. I gently reached up, placing one of my hands on her waist and the other on her neck, pulling her closer. Heart pounding, my palms no doubt sweaty with nerves, I watched her triumphant expression; she knew she had won me over again. I would pay her back later, I thought dimly as our lips nearly met …

'You said, 'the view is quite lovely'?' Annabeth suddenly echoed, pulling back.

'Yeah and you punched me for it,' I reminded her, hesitantly. I didn't want to wreck the moment.

Annabeth's eyes had that faraway look and I knew that was a signal to kiss her immediately or I would never get to. As soon as I thought this, she exclaimed, 'Of course!' and leapt off of me, gathering her notes.

I stared at her nonplussed, still wondering what was going on. She took off down the hill without another word, with me, still lying underneath the pine tree, probably looking disheveled.

'Wait, what?' I called down to her.

She stopped and looked up at me, obviously forgetting I was still with her. She ran back up, slightly breathless. 'You gave me an idea on how to fix the building. I have to go and tell them now,' she said, giving me a quick kiss and running back down, her ponytail swishing as she ran.

'What about our plans?' I called again, still confused.

She turned back to me, still jogging towards the cabins. 'I'll be back! Promise!'

I watched her go, before breathing out loudly, looking around dejectedly. Knowing she would probably be a while, I leant against the pine tree, closing my eyes. I had to smile though. Only Annabeth could take off without explanation and expect me to know the reason why.

'So much for the whole day together,' I sighed. It seemed like whenever we did get time to ourselves at the camp, something always came up. I sat there for a while, wondering what else the Gods could throw at us today that would be a cause for interruption when I heard a voice behind me.

'Why are you befouling my tree, Jackson?'


	2. Chapter 2

**The Hunters Arrive At Camp**

Part 2 in this installment. Sorry it was so late, I've been writing my own story but thanks for the reviews, keep them coming. Anyway, here it is. As always, these characters do not belong to me.

'Why are you befouling my tree, Jackson?'

Rolling to me feet, narrowly avoiding a low slung branch, I came face to face with Thalia Grace, leader of the Hunters of Artemis. She hadn't changed since the last time we had met: Spiky black hair completed with a silver tiara across her brow, her eyes were still the brilliant blue. Her shield rested against her back, on top of her sheath of arrows and her bow. She was watching me with her arms crossed, an annoyed expression playing across her lips.

'And I thought today couldn't get any worse,' I said.

I looked past Thalia to the nervous bunch of girls falling in behind her. 'I see you've grown in number. You know, this isn't a competition of who has the most demigods, or is everything with you a comp.'

'You know me Jackson,' Thalia said airily, pretending to check her nails. She hushed down a few of her new recruits, who were murmuring about my indecency towards their leader. 'It's okay. He's not mentally 'all there'. He doesn't know what he's saying.'

'Yeah, yeah,' I muttered with a sigh before rolling my eyes. 'It's good to see you,' I said with grin.

Thalia nodded in affirmation, a smirk on her face. We were standing there smiling at each other when I heard a shriek, followed by a blur of blonde hair. Annabeth streaked past me and tackled Thalia in a hug. Some of the new Hunters looked affronted before they realised Annabeth wasn't trying to kill Thalia. I chuckled as Annabeth pulled away.

'What are you doing here?' Annabeth asked excitedly

'Things are quiet and I was bored,' Thalia replied offhandedly, smiling.

'For how long?'

'Only a couple of days but I thought we might as well make the most of it,' Thalia shrugged. 'Plus, I wanted to see what your new designs.'

Annabeth looped her arm through the Hunter's arm, pulling her down to the camp, chatting about the new cabins in detail. The other Hunter's followed their leader, some looking a little more lost than the others but wisely just following.

'Wait, Annabeth!' I called out but she didn't hear me. A few of the Hunters gazed to me but turned away without interest. 'What about our day together?' I asked quietly, watching her walk away.

I sighed, letting my head droop. I trudged back towards the camp, wondering what I was going to do now. I let my feet take me wherever they wanted. I couldn't be angry at Annabeth. I knew a long time ago that Annabeth did whatever she pleased and I would just have to work around that. And I wasn't to become that possessive boyfriend that tied her down.

_Yo Boss!_

I glanced up and saw Blackjack, trotting towards me. He shook out his mane as he walked beside me.

_Man that was tiring! They seem to think I 'm a pack horse and then those Cyclops throwing big rocks around. Nearly took out one of my wings._

Blackjack continued to explain how lucky he was that he got out the construction site and how even though he wasn't a pack horse, he hauled the weight equivalent to a pack horse. I smiled as we made our way to the stables.

_Man it will be good to rest. Might just pretend I'm asleep if they come looking for me. So … got any sugar cubes for me?_ He asked once we reached his stall.

'You know you can't have them. They are bad for you,' I reminded him, leaning against the wall in his stall.

_Yeah, yeah. You still drink Coke even though it's bad don't you, boss? _He argued, butting his head against my arm.

'True,' I said thoughtfully, grinning. 'But here are some apples.' I threw the sack at his feet, letting the apples tumble around his floor.

_Aww … Man_ Blackjack whinnied, bending over eating.

'Hey,' I said with a smirk. I pulled out the handful of sugar cubes I took from the bag at the entrance of the stable.

Blackjack's thoughts were incoherent as he saw the treat, not hesitating in taking all of them from my outstretched hand. I laughed as he thanked me over and over again, his whole flank shaking with the oncoming sugar rush. I left him to it, wandering over to the training arena.

After being tackled and then licked to death by an excitable Mrs. O'Leary. I began to practice on a few of the spare dummies I had left from the previous days training. I let my mind go blank, just hearing the rhythm of my sword, Riptide constantly colliding with the dummy. I soon had destroyed one and started on another. It was easy to forget about the troubles of the day in here, just focusing on what one day maybe a monster.

I ducked and dived, rolling to my feet behind the stationary dummy and slicing off its head in one swift swing. Mrs. O'Leary barked in approval, the head rolling towards her. I grinned and bowed to her as she began to attack it herself. The third and fourth dummies died in similar fashion. Mrs. O'Leary was overjoyed by the amount of toys she was receiving. I was onto the fifth one, just hacking into its body, not really caring about technique. Bits of its stuffing flew in all directions. Mrs. O'Leary barked excitedly again but I ignored her, still chopping away at the dummy before me. It was in drags when I heard a voice behind me.

'Anyone would think that dummy did something to you?'


End file.
